Tag: fiction

Book Review:  Sam, by Allegra Goodman

Image belongs to Random House/The Dial Press.

Title:  Sam      
Author: Allegra Goodman    
Genre: Fiction    
Rating:  3.0

There is a girl, and her name is Sam. She adores her father, though he isn’t around much. Her mother, Courtney, struggles to make ends meet, and never fails to remind her daughter that her life should be different. Sam doesn’t fit in at school, where the other girls have the right shade of blue jeans and don’t question the rules. Sam doesn’t care about jeans or rules. She just loves to climb–trees, fences, walls, the side of a building. When she’s climbing, she discovers a place she belongs: she can turn off her brain, pain has a purpose, and it’s okay if you want to win.

As Sam grows into her teens, she grapples with self-doubt and insecurity. She yearns for her climbing coach to notice her, but his attention crosses boundaries she doesn’t know how to resist. She wishes her father would leave for good, instead of always coming and going, but once he’s gone, she realizes how much she’s lost. She rages against her mother’s constant pressure to plan for a more secure future. Wrestling with who she wants to be in the face of what she’s expected to do, Sam comes to understand that she alone can make her dreams come true.

This book felt very pointless to me. What was the plot? I’m not sure. What about conflict? Um…Yeah, there wasn’t anything in particular, except for Sam’s self-destructive tendencies. Sam doesn’t just “grapple with self-doubt and insecurity” as the blurb says. She’s flat-out childish and selfish—and frequently astonished when things turn out badly. Maybe this just wasn’t my cup of tea, but I’m not sure why I even bothered finishing this.

Allegra Goodman lives in Massachusetts. Sam is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House/The Dial Press in exchange for an honest review.)

What I Read in December (2022)

Books Read in December: 18

Books Read for the Year:  216/250 Definitely didn’t hit this one!

Yearly Reads:

Amazing Grace: 365 Daily Devotions.

Grace for the Moment, by Max Lucado.

She Reads Truth Bible.

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:

Help is Here by Max Lucado (spiritual). Great read!

What If It’s True? by Charles Martin (nonfiction, audio). This was an incredible book!

They Turned the World Upside Down, by Charles Martin (nonfiction). Absolutely loved this.

The Raven Song, by Luanne Smith (TBR). I enjoyed the second book in this fantasy series

Christmas at Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop, by Jenny Colgan (TBR). I enjoyed this, but Rosie kind of got on my nerves.

The Sacrament of Happy, by Lisa Harper (spiritual). So good!

Live Your Truth (and Other Lies), by Alisa Childers (spiritual). I don’t entirely agree with Childers here. A lot of it, yes, but not all.

For Review:

To Get to the Other Side, by Kelly Ohlert. This was…okay. The characters felt very superficially fleshed-out, and their personality quirks felt forced, not believable.

The Wedding Ranch, by Nancy Naigle. This was a sweet read–definitely worth binge-reading on the weekend.

The Secret Society of Salzburg, by Renee Ryan. I was glued to the page with this one! I loved both main characters and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to them.

Pretty Little Pieces, by Carmen Schober. I really enjoyed this novel! The interaction between Georgina and her BFF were stellar, and, let’s face it, Cassidy was pretty darn great, too.

Just Because:

Saint, by Adrienne Young (TBR). I have loved all of Young’s books, and reading this prequel to the Fable books was fantastic.

The 28-Day Prayer Journey Study Guide, by Chrystal Evans Hurst (spiritual).

Going Rogue, by Janet Evanovich. This series always makes me laugh.

Rules at the School by the Sea, by Jenny Colgan. I’ve enjoyed these books a lot!

Left Unfinished:

The Blackout Book Club, by Amy Lynn Green. I wanted to like this. I love books, I love World War II fiction, this should have been a sure thing. But I didn’t like the characters much, and I just couldn’t bring myself to read more.

The Lipstick Bureau, by Michelle Gable. Another DNFed WWII fiction? Who am I? This seemed a bit erratic, and the transitions between POV characters were clunky. And….Niki wasn’t a very likable person. I read 38% of this before realizing I didn’t care about her or what happened to her because she was pretty cold and heartless.

Book Review and Blog Tour:  The Lipstick Bureau, by Michelle Gable

Image belongs to Harlequin/Graydon House.

Title:  The Lipstick Bureau      
Author:  Michelle Gable   
Genre: Historical Fiction    
Rating:  DNF

1944, Rome. Newlywed Niki Novotná is recruited by a new American spy agency to establish a secret branch in Italy’s capital. One of the OSS’s few female operatives abroad and multilingual, she’s tasked with crafting fake stories and distributing propaganda to lower the morale of enemy soldiers.

Despite limited resources, Niki and a scrappy team of artists, forgers and others—now nicknamed The Lipstick Bureau—find success, forming a bond amid the cobblestoned streets and storied villas of the newly liberated city. But her work is also a way to escape devastating truths about the family she left behind in Czechoslovakia and a future with her controlling American husband.

As the war drags on and the pressure intensifies, Niki begins to question the rules she’s been instructed to follow, and a colleague unexpectedly captures her heart. But one step out of line, one mistake, could mean life or death…

This seemed a bit erratic, and the transitions between POV characters were clunky. I felt very distant from all the characters—they were more paper dolls than actual people. And….Niki wasn’t a very likable person. I read 38% of this before realizing I didn’t care about her or what happened to her because she was pretty cold and heartless.

Michelle Gable is a bestselling author. The Lipstick Bureau is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Graydon House in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  The Secret Society of Salzburg, by Renee Ryan

Image belongs to Harlequin.

Title: The Secret Society of Salzburg      
Author:   Renee Ryan
Genre: Historical fiction   
Rating:  5 out of 5

London, 1933

At first glance, Austrian opera singer Elsa Mayer-Braun has little in common with the young English typist she encounters on tour. Yet she and Hattie Featherstone forge an instant connection—and strike a dangerous alliance. Using their friendship as a cover, they form a secret society with a daring goal: to rescue as many Jews as possible from Nazi persecution.

Though the war’s outbreak threatens Elsa and Hattie’s network, their efforts attract the covert attention of the British government, offering more opportunities to thwart the Germans. But Elsa’s growing fame as Hitler’s favorite opera singer, coupled with her secret Jewish ancestry, make her both a weapon and a target—until her future, too, hangs in the balance.

From the glamorous stages of Covent Garden and Salzburg to the horrors of Bergen-Belsen, two ordinary women swept up by the tide of war discover an extraordinary friendship—and the courage to save countless lives.

I love World War II historical fiction. That being said, I did DNF one just a couple of weeks ago. I wasn’t ever in danger of putting this book down, though! Both Hattie and Elsa were fascinating characters, and I was fully invested in both of their stories. I wanted to see them succeed beyond their wildest dreams—and it was exhilarating seeing that happen on the page.

World War II was one of the most horrific times in world history, but seeing Hattie and Elsa jump in, determined to help Jewish people despite the danger to themselves was inspiring and uplifting. I truly loved every page of this book!

Renee Ryan grew up in Florida and now lives in Wisconsin. The Secret Society of Salzburg is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:   To Get to the Other Side, by Kelly Ohlert

Image belongs to Alcove Press.

Title:  To Get to the Other Side     
Author:  Kelly Ohlert
Genre:  Fiction  
Rating:  3 out of 5

Trixie isn’t exactly sure what she was thinking when she stopped her car in the middle of downtown Chicago, scooped up a chicken struggling to cross the road, and drove off… but she does know that she has to find a new home for herself and her new feathered friend. The landlord at her apartment doesn’t allow pets and has caught Trixie in one too many pet-smuggling attempts in the past.

Bear likes his quiet life with his close-knit family, who own a flower business, but he’s in for a rude awakening when his meddlesome sisters post an ad to rent the spare room in his simple home, without asking his permission. Still, when Trixie responds to the ad, he agrees to let her move in, despite immediate worries about keeping things platonic.

Determined to keep her new room, befriend Bear, and give her rescue chicken the care she deserves, Trixie fights to keep her walls up and resist her romantic feelings for Bear. However, it’s not long before the pair’s proximity and chicken parenting ignite flames that have Trixie and Bear testing the boundaries of their platonic ground rules. They have to figure out how to save a family business, pay for mounting vet bills, and navigate their own emotional baggage if they want to find the love that they all deserve.

The premise of this sounded really cute, I mean, a rescue chicken? Definitely some humor in there. But, these characters felt like caricatures:  with some overexaggerated features (Trixie’s unexplained “quirkiness”, Bear’s fear of his bad-guy father) but only surface level personalities. They felt like paper cutouts that the author had thrown darts at a dart board to pick out their character traits, without bothering to do the work to make them real. This made the entire story fall flat, and made me almost stop reading.

Kelly Ohlert lives in Michigan. To Get to the Other Side is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Alcove Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:   The Wilderwomen, by Ruth Emmie Lang

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:   The Wilderwomen    
Author:  Ruth Emmie Lang  
Genre:  Fantasy  
Rating:  4 out of 5

Five years ago, Nora Wilder disappeared. The older of her two daughters, Zadie, should have seen it coming, because she can literally see things coming. But not even her psychic abilities were able to prevent their mother from vanishing one morning.

Zadie’s estranged younger sister, Finn, can’t see into the future, but she has an uncannily good memory, so good that she remembers not only her own memories, but the echoes of memories other people have left behind. On the afternoon of her graduation party, Finn is seized by an “echo” more powerful than anything she’s experienced before: a woman singing a song she recognizes, a song about a bird…

When Finn wakes up alone in an aviary with no idea of how she got there, she realizes who the memory belongs to: Nora.

Now, it’s up to Finn to convince her sister that not only is their mom still out there, but that she wants to be found. Against Zadie’s better judgement, she and Finn hit the highway, using Finn’s echoes to retrace Nora’s footsteps and uncover the answer to the question that has been haunting them for years: Why did she leave?

But the more time Finn spends in their mother’s past, the harder it is for her to return to the present, to return to herself. As Zadie feels her sister start to slip away, she will have to decide what lengths she is willing to go to to find their mother, knowing that if she chooses wrong, she could lose them both for good.

At first, I wasn’t sure I was going to like Zadie too much. She tended towards being self-absorbed and oblivious to how she hurt other people’s feelings. She grew on me a bit as she started to become—slightly—more self-aware. Finn seemed so young to me:  doing everything on a whim and a prayer and not bothering to think a single thing through before leaping into thin air. I really enjoyed the sisters’ relationship, and became invested in their search for their mother and finding out what happened to her.

Ruth Emmie Lang was born in Scotland but now lives in Ohio. The Wilderwomen is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:   Never Rescue a Rogue, by Virginia Heath

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: Never Rescue a Rogue
Author: Virginia Heath  
Genre:  Romance  
Rating:  4.5 out of 5

Diana Merriwell and Giles Sinclair only tolerate one another for the sake of their nearest and dearest. Everyone believes that the two of them are meant to be together, but Diana and Giles know that their constant pithy barbs come from a shared disdain—not a hidden attraction. Diana loves the freedom of working at the newspaper too much to give it up for marriage, and Giles is happily married to his bachelor lifestyle. But they do have one thing in common—the secrets they can’t risk escaping.

When Giles’ father, the curmudgeonly Duke of Harpenden unexpectedly turns up his toes, it’s only a matter of time before someone comes crawling out of the woodwork who knows the true circumstances of his only son’s birth. As the threat of blackmail becomes real, Giles must uncover the truth of his parentage first, or else he and all those who depend upon him will be ruined—and dogged bloodhound Diana is his best hope at sniffing out the truth. As Giles and Diana dive into his family’s past, the attraction that the two of them insisted wasn’t there proves impossible to ignore. Soon, the future of the Sinclair estate isn’t the only thing on the line…

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and this one was a lot of fun, too. Diana is exactly the kind of character I like to read:  unashamedly herself, she goes after what she wants to do—no matter what anyone says or thinks about it. She and Giles were a joy to read about, and their witty barbs made me alight several times. This is a fun read!

Virginia Heath lives in London. Never Rescue a Rogue is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey, by Serena Burdick

Image belongs to Harlequin/Park Row.

Title: The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey    
Author:  Serena Burdick  
Genre:   historical fiction
Rating:  5 out of 5

What if you could write a new ending for yourself?

England, 1898. When Evelyn first married the famous novelist William Aubrey, she was dazzled by his brilliance. But their newlywed bliss is brief when William is gripped by writer’s block, and he becomes jealous of Evelyn’s writing talent. When he commits the ultimate betrayal–stealing a draft of her novel and passing it off as his own–Evelyn decides to write her way out of their unhappy marriage.

California, 2006. Abigail always wondered about her father, his identity forever lost when her mother unexpectedly died. Or so Abigail thought, until she stumbled upon his photo and a message that her great-great-grandmother was the author Evelyn Aubrey, leading Abigail on a journey to England in search for answers. There, she learns of Evelyn’s shocking disappearance and how London society believed she was murdered. But from what she uncovers about Evelyn, Abigail believes her brilliant great-great-grandmother had another plot up her sleeve.

When I first started reading this, Abby was such a self-absorbed, selfish person that I almost stopped reading. I held out until she went to England, and then, as she started growing, I got more interested. Following the mystery of Evelyn made her a much more interesting character—and learning more about her own parents, especially her messed-up mother, allowed her to work through her own issues.

Evelyn was my favorite character:  she ended up caught in a very tough situation, but she was smart enough to figure a way out. I wanted to smack her husband—and his mistress—several times, but she somehow managed to turn the other cheek and make a life of safety for herself. This ended up being a fascinating and engrossing read—despite the slow (due to a character issue) start.

Serena Burdick lives in Massachusetts. The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Park Row in exchange for an honest review.)

What I Read in October (2022)

Books Read in October: 14
Books Read for the Year:  190/250
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning (spiritual). Really enjoyed this read!

Luke’s Story by Tim LaHaye (spiritual). I enjoyed this re-read!

The Paradigm, by Jonathan Cahn (TBR). This was disturbing on a lot of levels.

The Oracle, by Jonathan Cahn (TBR). Cahn’s books are always so detailed.

Monster by Frank Peretti (TBR). This was pretty creepy at first, but I ended up enjoying it.

For Review:

Lark Ascending, by Silas House. I really felt like this book was missing a plot and a point.

Treachery on Tenth Street, by Kate Belli. This was a solid mystery read, and I enjoyed the characters.

To Capture His Heart, by Nancy Campbell Allen. Another solid read, with a bit of mystery thrown in.

When We Had Wings, by by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris and Susan Meissner. This was a fantastic read! I enjoyed WWII historical fiction, but I really loved this–I actually loved all three viewpoint characters equally, which is unusual for me.

Marlowe Banks, Redesigned, by Jacqueline Firkins. This was a fun, if somewhat predictable read.

We Are All We Have, by Marina Budhos. I almost didn’t finish this. And I kind of wished I hadn’t.

The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey, by Serena Burdick (review forthcoming). this took me a little bit to get into, but then I became engrossed! I enjoyed the past timeline the most.

Just Because:

The Passage, by Justin Cronin. This took me a looong time to read! I enjoyed it, but I’m not sure I’ll read the others.

Think, Learn, Succeed, by Caroline Leaf (audiobook). This was fascinating, but I think I’d have been better off with a physical copy.

Left Unfinished:

The Truth About Everything, by Bridget Farr. I only got about 10% of the way through this, because the idea of parents leaving their daughter so uneducated about basic life facts completely horrified me.

Closer to Okay, by Amy Watson. This felt very scattered, erratic, and unrealistic to me.

Wild: The Life of Peter Beard: Photographer, Adventurer, Lover, by Graham Boynton. Solid writing, but Peter Beard himself just didn’t seem like the sort of person I want to spend a few hours reading about. His attitude towards his parents—hateful—was the clincher for me.

The Sacrifice, by Rin Chupeco. Made it about a third of the way through this, but it had some unexpected content, so I stopped reading.

Eyes Turned Skyward, by Alena Dillon. I read about 20% of this—and realized I couldn’t stand the characters. Any of them.

Book Review:  We Are All We Have, by Marina Budhos

Image belongs to Random House Children’s.

Title:  We Are All We Have     
Author:  Marina Budhos  
Genre:  YA  
Rating:  3 out of 5

There’s a knock at the door.
It’s the police.
They’re taking Rania’s mom.

Seventeen-year-old Rania doesn’t understand why—they’ve done all the right things, haven’t they? Her mom said their case with immigration was fine. If this was a lie, what else is?

Alone with her younger brother, Kamal, Rania will have to figure out how to survive. When they wind up in a home with other kids waiting to hear if they can stay in this country, she meets a charming boy named Carlos. He persuades Rania to go to her high school graduation. And from there, they just keep driving.

Searching for freedom while feeling trapped by circumstances beyond their control, Rania begins to fall for Carlos and uncovers painful truths about her family, and this country, where being an asylum seeker or an undocumented immigrant can mean anything but freedom.

I didn’t find Rania or her mother very likable at all. Raina’s mother seems to never tell the truth, and while at first Raina has a problem with that, eventually she seems to think it’s perfectly justified. It’s not. And Raina embraces her identity as a victim and continually runs away from her problems instead of taking responsibility for her actions. Solid writing, plus this being a very quick read were the only things that made me finish reading this.

Marina Budhos is an award-winning author. We Are All We Have is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House Children’s in exchange for an honest review.)